The Earth: A Final Say

In the midst of the earth’s sixth great extinction event—entirely man-made— it might be a good idea to salvage and digest pieces of the universal indigenous human relationship with the planet.

Reverence and symbiosis worked so well before we systematically destroyed them.

This quote is in response to the Aborigines’ 50,000 stewardship of the land and their ultimate desire to protect the environmental status quo—the one that gave them their very existence:

The Dreaming answered both the questions how and why. Man’s obligation was not to improve upon nature, but to sustain the world. The literal preservation of the land was the most fundamental priority of every Aboriginal man and woman. It was a profoundly conservative ideology. I am not saying whether it was right or wrong, good or bad. But it had consequences. Clearly, had humanity as a whole followed the ways of the Aborigines, the intellectual track laid down by these descendents of the first humans to walk out of Africa, we would not have put a man on the moon. But, on the other hand, had the Dreaming (The fundamental Aborigine way of life) become a universal devotion, we would not be contemplating today the consequences of industrial processes that by any scientific definition threaten the very life supports of the planet.

~ Wade Davis, The Way Finders

It is a choice we can all make: individually begin to cherish the proverbial Eden that gave us life or, for lack of a more subtle description, destroy it. Cultivating a love for the earth can be as simple as coming back to the moment to appreciate the complexity of what is here now—life, abundance, a charged, humming miracle.

Here are nine groups around the world that are doing amazing work to protect the planet and the wonderful indigenous cultures that face a similar extinction.

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About
Don Dianda

Don Dianda is the author of “See for your Self: Zen Mindfulness for the Next Generation.” Through meditation, daily mindfulness practice, and individual koan work, Dianda seeks to shed light on the inherently deep connection one can have with the experience of this life as well as the world one moves through. Stepping into the now and recognizing the movements within the mind is where the path begins… See more at: http://redwoodzen.blogspot.com/